Title

Ping Pong Bounce

Broad Question

Does the rating of a ping pong ball have an affect on the performance of the ball?

Specific Question

What is the effect of different ping pong ball star rating on the bounce height of a ping pong ball?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the one star balls will bounce 3 cm higher than the three star balls.
I think this because the one star balls are lighter than the 3 stars.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Star Rating of Ping Pong Balls

Dependent Variable:

Height of Ball Bounce (cm)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

• Temp in room
• Wind in room
• The height of the the drop point
• The type of ping pong ball
• The flatness of the table
• The flatness of the ground
• The placement of the Flip video camera
• The placement of the ruler
• The room I am testing it in
• The straightness of the ruler

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Ping Pong - Otherwise known as table tennis, ping pong is a game played with paddles and balls on a table with a net.

---

---

---

---

General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

The camera could run out of battery, in that case I would replace them.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

There are no safety or Environmental Concerns for this project.

Experimental Design

This experiment will be set up and tested in Mr. Yahna's science room, in JBES. The experiment will be testing bounce, so a meter stick will be put standing up against a flat table. A camera will be set up near it aiming at the meter stick. Record will be hit and the ball will be bounced. Once the ball has been dropped and bounced it will be put it in the already tested pile. The same thing will repeat for all of ping pong ball that are being tested. Once I am done testing all of the ping pong balls, I will import all the videos of the ping pong ball drops and watch them. When the ball gets to it’s highest point, I will pause it and record the number on the data sheet. I will do this for all of the balls, and then my experiment is done.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
1 star Eastpoint ping pong ball 6-pack	2	Wal-Mart	$3.12
3 star Eastpoint ping pong ball 6-pack	2	Wal-Mart	$6.52
1 meter stick	1	Mr. Yahna	$0.00
Flip Video Camera	1	Mr. Yahna	$0.00
Flip Video Stand	1	Mr. Yahna	$0.00
Tape	1	Mr. Yahna	$0.00
Computer	1	Mr. Yahna	$0.00

Detailed Procedure

Setup:

1. Find a granite/rock flat table to put the ruler against.
2. Make sure that the table is level with the ground.
3. Get the 1 star ping pong balls and the 3 star balls to bounce.
4. Take the 1 star ping pong balls out of the packaging.
5. Set the three star ping pong balls somewhere within sight.
6. Get the meter stick that is provided.
7. Set up the meter stick pointing directly upwards towards the ceiling. (Use tape or something to hold it up).
8. Get the Flip Camera that is provided.
9. Set up the camera pointing directly at the meter stick so the camera can see the 60 - 70 cm range.
10. Experiment Time!

Experiment:

1. Press the record button the the Flip camera provided.
2. Hold the ping pong ball on top of the meter stick.
3. Drop the ping pong ball onto the ground and let it bounce up next to the meter stick.
4. After the ping pong ball has dropped, stop the recording flip camera, and put the ping pong ball in the already tested pile and never use it again. (Well, maybe in a future ping pong game.)
5. Repeat Steps 1-4 for all of the 1 star and 3 star ping pong balls.
6. After all of the ping pong balls have been tested, import the videos into the computer by putting the USB into the USB port on the computer.
7. When watching a video, go to the different frames, and go to the one for it's highest point.
8. Record the number (cm) on the data sheet for the experiment.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 for all of the videos.

---

Data Table

---

---

.

Graphs

Photos

Results

The average bounce height of the one star balls was 67.76 (cm). The average bounce height of the three star balls was 70.64 (cm). The trial numbers were really close. Most of the time the three star balls bounce a few centimeters higher, but sometimes the one stars bounce higher. It finally came out that the three star balls had a higher average.

Conclusion

The experiment was to find out if the star rating of the ball affected it’s bounce height. The results prove that star rating does affect bounce height. The bounce height was higher with the three stars. The average bounce height of the one star balls was 67.76 (cm). The average bounce height of the three star balls was 70.64 (cm).

Discussion

The experiment question, was whether star rating of ping pong balls affects the bounce height. The experiment did answer the question. The trials showed that star rating does affect bounce height. The three star balls bounced higher. It had been hypothesized that the one star balls would bounce higher than the three stars. The results did not support the hypothesis. The average bounce height of the one star balls was 67.76 (cm). The average bounce height of the three star balls was 70.64 (cm). The trial numbers were really close. Most of the time the three star balls bounce a few centimeters higher, but sometimes the one stars bounce higher. It finally came out that the three star balls had a higher average.
There was no pattern in the trial numbers. They were always around the 60-70 cm range. The data was hard to identify because one had to look at a video of dropping the ball and see where it’s highest point was. The results happened because the three star balls were a better quality of bounce and flight. The had a higher rating and made better by Eastpoint Sports.They had a higher cost, so they had to be better. There are no previous similar experiments that had similar results. The results can be explained because on EastpointSports.com the three star balls are explained be this:

• Official tournament size and weight
• Suitable for tournament competition
• Engineered for precision roundness, accurate rebound, weight and color
• Pack of six

The challenges that arose during the experiment were seeing if the meter stick was straight. If the stick wasn’t straight, it would throw off the entire series of data, and that would not be good. Tape had to be used to hold the meter stick against the table in place and straight, but sometimes the tape would come off and it had to be re-taped again. One challenge was that it was hard to look at the video off the drooping of the ball and see it’s highest point on the meter stick. The experiment could have been done a little sooner, and it could have been more advanced, but since it was done at the last minute, it was the bare minimum of an experiment. There was no specialized information or technology needed to conduct this experiment.
The knowledge gained through this experiment is that if someone ever in a ping pong game wants the bounciest ball, they should take the three star. People who play ping pong excessively could use it. Ping pong pros could use the information in the experiment. After this experiment was conducted a new question arose, does star rating effect spin? but that is an experiment for another day, or another person.

Background Research

3 star balls have a better quality of bounce and flight

Tennis Federation ping pong balls are 40mm in diameter and weight 2.7 grams. Ping pong balls are completely hollow on the inside. Before 2001, ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) used slightly smaller balls, which were 38 mm in diameter.

Ping pong balls are rated on a quality scale of no stars up to three stars.

Orange and white are the only colors used by the ITTF, but other ping pong balls come in an array of colors, including glow-in-the-dark.

6 stiga 3 star competition balls cost 10.50$, 6 stiga 1 star balls cost 2$

6 stiga 2 star balls cost 6.00$

The international rules specify that the game is played with a light 2.7 gram, 40 mm diameter ball. The rules say that the ball shall bounce up 24–26 cm when dropped from a height of 30.5 cm on to a standard steel block thereby having a coefficient of restitution of 0.89 to 0.92.

References

"What is the difference between 1 to 3 star ping pong balls? | ChaCha."Questions & Answers | ChaCha. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.chacha.com/question/what-is-the-difference-between-1-to-3-star-ping-pong-balls>.

"What is the difference between 1 to 3 star ping pong balls? | ChaCha."Questions & Answers | ChaCha. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.chacha.com/question/what-is-the-difference-between-1-to-3-star-ping-pong-balls>.

"Google Shopping." Google Shopping. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2003. <https://www.google.com/shopping?source=appbar&sa=X&ei=TzcBUZWJJqrr0gGy-YGACQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAQQ1Bw>.

"Table tennis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis#B>

Abstract

The purpose of my experiment was to see if the star rating of a ping pong ball affects how high it bounces. It was hypothesized that the one star ball would bounce higher than the three star balls. The experiment was done by placing a ruler against a flat table, and placing a flip camera next to it to record the trials. The camera would start recording, and the ball would drop from the top of the ruler down, and it would bounce back up. The recording would stop, and it would play on the computer. The data would be recorded, and it would go on the data sheet. Results show that the three star balls bounce higher than the one star balls. The answer to the question is that the higher rated balls bounce higher than the less rated balls.